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Getting Connected

With our move now behind us, we were keen to start doing business locally, participating and contributing to Whitstable's thriving entrepreneurial vibe. With so many independent businesses here, we wanted to put our skills to good use locally, broaden our network, and enjoy a balance in having more face-to-face clients. The challenge: to find our first local client for a Bungalow-style business makeover!

With that in mind, we headed off to our first tweetup at Whitstable's Hotel Continental. No sooner had we walked through the door than we were approached, arms-wide, by the rather wonderful Kerry Hales, who we had already struck up conversation with over coffee some months earlier, Christmas shopping in Whitstable. A well-connected, much-liked and social-media-savvy businesswoman with great energy – and accomplished track record, she admitted she felt held back by not having a professional brand image, identity and website (other than her existing stock-template, unbranded blog). As a Strictly Come Dancing fan, she had already seen our work and was only too thrilled to let us take a look at her business. Early discussions made it clear that she would benefit from a Bungalow makeover... and that we too would benefit from her infectious and inspirational manner. The fit was good — we clicked!

An initial consultancy session followed where we got to grips with her current business, before turning the tables and becoming coaches to draw out her longer term vision. We then began to plot out a strategy for her new brand, its positioning and roll-out.

A New Image

We wanted Kerry's brand and materials to be a true reflection of her personality, strengths, energy and capability. We turned the spotlight on Kerry, literally, when she visited us at our studio. Upon arriving, she instantly took a shine to our iconic Egg chair; glasses on, pen and journal at hand, Kerry looked right at home. The shutter began to click, and to our delight, a newly confident, empowered professional woman emerged. We shot a series of images that would become an intrinsic part of her new business identity and help direct the look and feel of her website.

A New Identity

With super new portrait photographs to work with, we focused on her visual identity and combined a friendly, positive mark and typeface with energising, corporate swatches, balanced carefully to appeal to both female and male demographics. We also advised she evolve from 'the communications coach' to 'Kerry Hales, the complete coach' to position her as the figurehead of her business and to connect more directly with her audience.

With brand visuals in place, Kerry was keen to present her new business identity at her networking events across Kent: we designed business cards with a QR code for quick mobile access, vital for such a busy networker.

The New Website

We then turned our attention to her website. Kerry's old site was no more than a stock-template WordPress blog. We took her site apart and turned it on its head. We redesigned it from the ground up, reorganising and rewriting the content, replacing what was effectively a personal journal with an engaging, business-based, service-focused website. We asked Kerry to write clear definitions of her core services, telling her to think of them as 'products', for which we created new pages, individual identities and site-wide promo-spots to make them feel accessible, tangible, professionally packaged – and purchasable.

Already up to speed with social media, we brought all her channels on-brand and incorporated them and their feeds into her site; we also introduced her to Pinterest to give an additional visual dimension and resource. Given Kerry's great presence in front of a lens, and wanting clients to be able to get to know, form a bond, and feel comfortable with her, we tried our hands at video-blogging... something we'll be focusing on over the coming months. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, email newsletter, and YouTube - all integrated into her site for maximum exposure and engagement.

Designed to Engage and Connect

Kerry's new website enables her to keep her existing network – and potential clients alike – updated with her news, blogs, inspirations, products, activities... even video-blogs to maintain that crucial personal connection.

Video blog

social media shares

newsletter sign-up

calls to action

pinterest

twitter feed

blog snippets

branded sign-off & contact details

Over to Kerry...

With the website now handed over, its WordPress engine gives Kerry full control over all content, management and updates. She now has all the tools available to enable her to do what she does best: work on her business – her products, services and marketing – rather than 'blog, blog blog'. She has a professional, confident image, and a thoroughly modern, first class website that not only means business – it clearly demonstrates that Kerry means business too.

We've thoroughly enjoyed working with Kerry and are thrilled with the results, as is she...

I'm truly staggered by the Bungalow boys' talent and abilities… they wear so many hats! Not content with being top notch designers, they are business strategists, consultants, social media gurus, copywriters, and website experts – is there nothing they can't do? I am so grateful to have worked with them and can't express what they have done for my business and for me!

If you're serious about business – and shouldn't we all be? – then call them. David & Scott are personable, have the highest integrity I have come across in business and they will over deliver on 'everything'. They get right to the core of your business, they need no direction… they just do it, they get it, they are on another level!!

Settling in after our big move has been no small feat, but Whitstable is a fantastic place – we've already met lots of fantastic people, it's by the sea, packed with independent shops… and the house is a midcentury marvel. All in all, it's right up our street!

Embracing this vibe, we've been working on a new Blog: the Bungalow Journal — a place for us to post our architecture, design and style inspirations (all with a midcentury slant, of course!) There's much that we're eager to blog about that really doesn't quite fit with this, our business blog, and so the Journal was conceived, designed and built… and has just gone live!

Starting with entries about our midcentury move, including full details of our Bungalow renovation – and how we sold it privately, and now starting to take a wider look at the Californian architecture of the era that so captured our imaginations, it's very much a work-in-progress.

Post-by-post, we'll share our inspirations from the mid-20th Century, insights into seaside life here in Whitstable, plus updates on the renovation of our new house, Cambria. (The latter is likely to be a very long process indeed, so it's good to know our virtual notebook won't run out of pages!)

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Ever keen to give back to his fans and push his brand and materials that step further, 'Strictly' professional dancer Ian Waite understands the value in maintaining a sharp, polished image. And as 2010 draws to a close, what better next step than a bespoke 2011 Calendar?! Not just a timely gift idea... but also a great marketing & PR opportunity: placing him in everyday line-of-sight of fans and media figures alike for the year ahead. With a vision from the outset of a Calendar that would be stylish, premium and very much on-brand, appealing to his broad demographic and showing versatility beyond his repute as a dancer, Ian commissioned Bungalow to present him as a 'Man For All Seasons'.

The first step was to organise a new photoshoot and we were all in agreement that Leo at Snooty Fox Images was the natural choice, with his eye for location and visual narrative. We sketched out some initial ideas which Leo developed, refined, and proposed to set against the stunning backdrop of Moor Park, a beautiful stately home in Hertfordshire with opportunities aplenty for some great shots. David accompanied Ian as his stylist and behind-the-scenes photographer, and along with hairstylist
Caterina Maiolini, makeup artist
Carlo di Caterino, and Leo's assistant, Meriet, the team staged Ian in a storyboard of settings, outfits and scenarios.

Much fun was had on the shoot - and we were incredibly lucky with the weather which enabled Leo to shoot some impromptu shots in the grounds of the property as well as using its magnificent interior. A beautiful classic Aston Martin was also sourced for the shoot, adding cinematographic panache and reflecting an era of suave sophistication to which Ian is perfectly tailored.

Armed with the shots straight off camera, Ian came to the Bungalow to shortlist them down to a series of images that worked not only photographically, but that also gave good narrative to the calendar - capturing the character of the moment, each image a good fit to the month portrayed.

Bungalow then began work on the design: the size, shape, image placement and typography of the calendar - keenly maintaining the sharpness and style of his branding… then working this look into two formats: one sized to hang on the wall and one for the desk. We retouched and polished the images to get the best possible results at the required sizes, and as a final touch included some extra content on bonus pages: a Welcome & New Year message from Ian accompanying another super photo; a photo index with each image entitled to enhance the storytelling for the romantics among his fans; a montage of David's behind-the-scenes shots to share the experience of the shoot; a year-to-view page, and finally a smartly designed back cover with yet another cracking portrait.

The back page also displays the WellChild logo: Ian is an active supporter of this charity and generously pledged to make a donation from the sale of each and every calendar.

Artwork completed and approved by Ian, files were then sent to the printer to produce a set of final proofs. This underway, we set about marketing the Calendars to build buzz, excitement... and demand...

Without having the final products in our hands to photograph, we created 3D digital renders instead. These were deployed across the internet in a number of ways: we prepared the listings on Ian's online shop for which we wrote the detailed descriptions & set the pricing; we then updated his home page with a large promotional graphic to inform every visitor to his site; we designed a HTML email and sent this out to all subscribers on his email list (carefully tracking its impact and responses), and then began plugging it on Twitter to Ian's 12,500+ followers. The influx of orders began immediately!

With proofs signed-off, calendars were literally 'hot' off the press - those summer months in particular! And adding to their value and appeal, Ian signed the cover of each one before they were shrink-wrapped.

We coordinated the signing, print management and packaging of all the orders including arranging international shipping for his overseas sales, and were very grateful to Paul at Print Synergy for pulling out the stops ensuring we could ship the first batch in time for the 'Strictly Come Dancing' semi-final!

Great feedback is already appearing on Twitter as excited fans' parcels are arriving, and those who've opened them (unable to wait until Christmas!) are already tweeting their favourite months directly to Ian. They're generating new sales as a result, too, so much so that demand will soon outstrip supply and another print run will be needed.

We're thrilled with the result: a really stunning, premium product! Ian, too, is delighted, and he's already thinking about locations for shooting his 2012 Calendar! If you'd like to 'Make a date with Ian Waite', visit his online shop here - but be quick... supplies are 'Strictly' limited!

Bungalow crafted the PhD identity for Berkshire-based Prospect Estate Agency back in 2006, elevating their existing Premier Homes of Distinction department to a property brand with refinement, style, a stronger position and larger market share. Originating straplines to hit the sweetspot of its target demographic and a visual style to spotlight properties across web, print, newspress and magazines such as Berkshire Life, our innate understanding of property enabled us to precisely position the PhD brand to target those vendors seeking 'a higher degree of marketing.'

Having copywritten and designed the original marketing ourselves at the brand's inception - indeed, defining the service - it was only natural that PhD commissioned us once again to give their marketing brochure a makeover: expanding on, and refreshing the content to reflect their now-established approach and the increasing calibre of instructions gained. Flick through the brochure here.

With the brand's growing market presence and track record, Bungalow are regularly called in to help present PhD's top-end properties at their very best. From the interior photography to the design, layout, captioning and
copywriting, Bungalow's approach to property brochures helps convey the
real character of a home. Combining creativity with property know-how, we produce brochures that go beyond agents' standard offerings and provide a more compelling narrative for prospective purchasers to engage with.

PhD's 2010 marketing brochure has helped provide several £1m+ instructions for us to work with, including Roxburgh, this lovely property in Ascot, Berkshire, valued at £3.7million:

Our service goes beyond the traditional hard-copy brochure: we also provide a smart online gallery for the vendor to share with their friends and family, along with interactive e-brochures which can be distributed at the click of a button by email or tweet. Click the images to flick through the brochures.

Premier homes, by definition, are individual and each deserves a bespoke approach to its presentation and marketing. A compelling and engaging brochure not only adds great value to any Estate Agent's service, it acts as a persuasive selling tool to vendors and enhances the experience for vendor and purchaser alike.

From the brand identity and marketing materials to the presentation of its prestige homes, Bungalow Industries has delivered a unique and market-leading Estate Agency brand in Prospect PhD.

Read more about our work with Prospect Estate Agency here, and if you'd like to elevate your premier property brand, are interested in our property photography, or would like marketing materials to sell your property privately, call Bungalow Industries on 0845 60 11 470.

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Bungalow Industries had a bank-holiday field trip to the Isle of Wight - a return to a childhood holiday haunt for David, and a first time for Scott - with a very packed itinerary in store! A 4am start for an ungodly-timed ferry from Portsmouth landed us in Fishbourne bright and early for a weekend of touring in the Spider, visiting friends... and seeking out some of the Island's mid-century modernist architectural gems.

Having a couple of hot leads property-wise on the very south of the Island, we based ourselves in Bonchurch - a picturesque seaside village on the easterly edge of Ventnor. The town and its 'Undercliff' region is nowadays home to the Island's species-rich botanic gardens - with the unique geology offering a sheltered, sub-tropical microclimate. Formerly the site of the Royal National Hospital, the renowned therapeutic air offered comfort to consumption sufferers for over 80 years until the arrival of effective antibiotics whereupon it fell into disrepair, to be demolished in 1969.

Our chosen B&B turned out to be something spectacular and quite unique: the Winterbourne Country House. With a breath-taking coastal setting, mesmerising view, suite-like room and superb hospitality, all expectations were exceeded. We'd taken some work with us and planned to use spare time to recharge batteries and provide inspiration. Of this, there was no shortage: some 151 years earlier, none other than the great Charles Dickens had occupied the very next room penning David Copperfield! (No pressure there, then!)

With our days filled with coastal walks, the Botanic Gardens, mackerel lunches in secret coves and even a boat trip to a birthday party on the beach, we barely had time to check out the architecture - but luckily we'd based ourselves in just the right spot...

Exploring the Undercliff, we were lucky enough to spot a number of gems including Chert (shown below left) - now owned and let as holiday accommodation by the National Trust, and described as one of their most unusual properties. Several more individually styled mid-twentieth century homes are to be found dotted around, enjoying the panoramic sea views and it was a treat to see these buildings preserved in their original state by fellow modernist enthusiasts. These properties are of true architectural significance and the Twentieth Century Society has, in the past, organised guided tours of Wight's mid-century-modern hideaways. You can read more about Chert's interesting history here on their website.

Our visit was timed to perfection to coincide with the Bembridge Street Fair where we stepped back into a bygone era of bunting, brass bands, bric-a-brac and cream teas all to the most perfectly elocuted commentary over the Hi-De-Hi-style tannoy. Our Island chums Zoë and Tim were holding their regular stall, selling Zoë's beautiful art-based photographic cards and knitted ties, along with Tim's wonderfully ingenious driftwood sconces. Their stall created a real buzz and a lot of smiles, and it was great to see their work being bought by holidaymakers and locals alike.

There's so much more to explore on Wight than our three days allowed and we're really looking forward to getting back there as soon as we can. We'd definitely stay at the Winterbourne again, and highly recommend it too (try the kippers for breakfast!). The great British seaside holiday is alive, well and thriving on Wight and with all the fun of the ferry it even feels like you're going abroad.

All too soon, and with heavy hearts, we bade our farewells and made for the port - but not before a mad dash to Captain Stan's for two pots of his finest crabmeat for a seafood supper back home!

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A rare and special day: an opportunity to tickle the ivories and trip the shutter! After the concerted efforts of the past few months in getting our website finished, downtime has been an elusive luxury and we both welcomed the opportunity to clear out creative cobwebs!

Fingers were a little rusty, admittedly, and Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto (the theme to the 1941 film 'Dangerous Moonlight'... later renamed 'Suicide Squadron') took some flak. The Polish theme continued with run-throughs of some favourite Chopin gems: the last movement of the B minor Sonata, his 1st and 3rd Ballades and the infamous A-flat 'Heroic' Polonaise.

All credit to David for some cracking shots too - a more picture-perfect than note-perfect afternoon, granted... but great fun, a different kind of creative collaboration... and a stern reminder to practise, practise, practise!

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A true inspiration listening to your music Scott, always a pleasure to listen over a glass of vino, and hope that our singing does not ruin the musical delights you create. Looking forward to a different type of creative 'interesting' collaboration with a few good old sing songs round the piano very soon!